Divorces

Divorces

When you are faced with the prospects of a divorce, it can be a very unsettling and emotionally challenging time for you.

We guide and assist you through your divorce by offering the best solution for the dissolution of the marriage whilst protecting your interests.

We have a personal approach and believe in building a trust relationship with you, our client, all the time keeping good communication to avoid unnecessary stress.

We consider various options such as negotiation and mediation first to reach an amicable settlement outside of court.

When circumstances are not conducive to an amicable settlement we have the ammunition to fight your battle for you in court.

Although divorces happen between married couples, children inevitably are involved. This is why we also take the children’s best interest into consideration when negotiating divorce settlement, drafting settlement agreements or fighting your battle in court.

We also assist with divorce matters where one of the parties is based in South-Africa and the other party in another country of origin. When dealing with these matters it will depend on the facts of the specific case to establish which country will have jurisdiction and if it would be possible to do the divorce in South-Africa.

If a party wishes to initiate divorce proceedings but are unaware of the location or primary residence of their spouse then certain other steps have to be taken into consideration before being able to proceed correctly with the divorce matter.

There are two types of divorces: unopposed and opposed.

An unopposed divorce occurs when there are no disputes and the parties can reach a settlement regarding issues such as the immovable property, other assets, access to the minor children and maintenance for the minor child and spouse, where relevant.

This is a more cost effective and timeous procedure and can be finalised within three months.

An opposed divorce occurs when there are many disputes and no consensus can be reached between the parties regarding the issues mentioned above.

Summons will be served, interim access and maintenance can be ordered by the Court (in addition to various other interim orders) using the Rule 43 procedures and the divorce would then be heard before Divorce Court. To finalise this process can take up to two years and is a costly exercise.

We assist our clients according to the requirements of their divorce matter, whether it be negotiating a settlement agreement or fighting for our clients rights in a messy divorce.

Due to the fact that we are qualified and conveyancing attorneys with a strong property division all property transfers resulting from the divorce are dealt with in-house. The divorce also makes it necessary to amend your will and here too you are in the best hands possible as B Lubbe & Associates Wills and Estates department was established in 1998 and offers a specialised and experienced service.